


Hurt and Fear

by FandomStar



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Homophobia, Kinda, M/M, Men Crying, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23343190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomStar/pseuds/FandomStar
Summary: Things that weren't known to have a need to be addressed are spoken about and (mostly) resolved - all in one night.
Relationships: Jedediah/Octavius (Night at the Museum)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 133





	Hurt and Fear

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooo! My name is Ell! This is the first NATM and Jedtavius fanfic that I've written, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!  
> I've decided that it's probably set between Battle of the Smithsonian and Secret of the Tomb.   
> There's also a Latin term in there which I will define in the end notes.

Jed stood, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, watching a sweat slick Octavius as he sat on a chair breathing heavily. It had been five minutes since the end of the fight - competition - Jed couldn’t remember what it was called. When it had finished, Jed had followed Octavius back to the room. He still hadn’t been noticed. 

“Seems you did priddy good out there, pard.” he casually commented.

Octavius sharply lifted his head in Jed’s direction. Just as quickly, he turned away.

“Why are you here, Jedediah?” he weakly asked, removing the helmet he’d worn in the arena.

Intensely, Jed gazed at the usually so well put together general. Octavius looked like he hadn’t rested for a moment in his life.

“I… I’m worried bout you, Oct,” Jed admitted. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

Hesitantly, Octavius took off his breastplate before hugging himself. Now very concerned, Jed carefully approached his friend and reached out to press a hand to his back. 

“Oct -” He was cut off when Octavius flinched away from his hand. After a moment, he sobbed, and it broke Jed to see the usually so strong and beautiful Roman general in such a state. “Octy,” Jed breathed. “What happened, Octavius?”

Octavius didn’t move, nor did he answer. Despondent, Jed sat on the ground beside Octavius’ chair.

“Never seen ya like this before,” he commented. “But I know I don’ like it.”

“Then leave. You don’t need to be here. You won’t have to see me if you leave.” Octavius whispered.

Jed stared at him in shock. 

“Boy… I couldn’t live with myself if I did. Y’know that.”

Octavius flinched. “Please don’t… don’t call me that.”

“What-? Oh!” Jed responded. “Octy?”

Furiously, Octavius shook his head, before a choked sob escaped his throat.

“Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Yer safe with me, yeh?” Jed comfortingly murmured, raising to his knees. “I ain’t here ta judge ya or hurt ya. I’m just here ta make sure yer okay and be yer friend, yeh?”

Unexpectedly, Octavius slid from his chair to sit with Jed. After taking some deep breaths, his hands wrapped around Jed’s wrist and brought his arm across his shoulders. In the time it took for Jed to process this, Octavius had buried himself in the cowboy’s chest and began sobbing. Jed took his hat off and rested his chin in Octavius’ soft curls, soothingly rubbing his shoulder.

“Hey. That’s it. It’s alright. Jus’ leddit out, pardner.”

After a few minutes, Octavius had stopped crying, but his breathing remained harsh. Tightly, he wrapped his arms around Jed’s waits. Jed gently adjusted his position to accommodate the Roman in his lap.

“He used me.” Octavius murmured into Jed’s shirt.

“What?” Jed softly asked, confused.

“ _ Obscenely  _ used.” Octavius choked out.

Jed’s eyes widened as he felt a fury toward the unnamed man bubble deep inside him.

“Who-?” he began to ask, before stopping at the vigorous shaking of Octavius’ head. “Awright, awright. You don’t hafta tell me.”

He felt a little of Octavius’ tension lift.

“He called me a  _ cinaedius _ ,” Octavius breathed. “ _ His _ cinaedius.”

Cautiously, Jed wrapped his free arm around Octavius’ back to join his other arm. Octavius curled into a ball against him.

“Yer safe with me, Octy. He ain’t doin’ nuthin’ while I’m around.” Jed told him.

Tentatively, Octavius lifted his head, before aiming a small, grateful smile at Jed, who pressed his mouth to the Roman’s hairline with no thought.

“Now, whaddaya say to gettin’ cleaned up and headin’ ta the West?” Jed suggested.

Octavius’ smile turned to a grin.

“That… sounds exquisite.”

  
  


At Octavius’ contented sigh, Jed turned away from the wall to see him sinking into his private bath. He tried not to pay much mind to Octavius’ beautiful back and the muscles underneath the skin. Feeling his friend’s gaze on him, Jed shook himself and sat on the ground to remove his boots and socks, before shrugging his vest off and throwing it on top of his boots with a sense of finality.

“You won’t be joining me?” Octavius asked, sounding disappointed.

“Nah. I, um… I’ll be doing dandy up here.” Jed replied awkwardly, warily eyeing the water as he sat and dangled his legs into the Roman bath next to Octavius.

When his eyes sparkled in understanding, Octavius merely nodded. Jed was thankful that neither spoke the reason; that Jed couldn’t swim - how would one learn to in a desert? 

The pair sat together in silence, ripples in the water from Jed’s hand and legs and Octavius’ movements occasionally breaking the silence. Without warning, Octavius ducked beneath the water, startling Jed somewhat. When he resurfaced, he had trouble getting his dripping hair out of his face without getting more water in his eyes.Jed chuckled affectionately.

“Here, lemme.” he offered, reaching his dry hand out towards Octavius’ head.

Gently, he slicked his friend’s dark fringe back. Their eyes never left each other’s, even as Jed’s hand hovered, unsure of what to do with itself once its job was done. Octavius smiled up at Jed softly and touched his hand to the calloused skin of Jed’s. Seeing Jed’s widening eyes, he realised he would have to make the move, so maneuvered their hands so that their fingers locked. Despite lowering his gaze, a delicate smile graced Jed’s face. However, when their eyes met again, he shook himself and roughly pulled his hand back.

“Sorry. I think we should, ah… we should finish up here, yeah, pardner?”

“Yes. Perhaps.” Octavius agreed, a guarded expression, clearly put on to shield his true feelings toward the situation.

Jed had hurt him through his own fear - fear of the depth of his feelings, fear of what those feelings meant, fear of what would happen if he acted on them - which wasn’t fair on Octavius. 

Sighing, Jed ran a troubled hand through his hair, before sliding away from the edge of the bath to tug his boots and vest back on. He let Octavius dress in silence behind him.

“Are you ready?” Octavius curtly asked. 

Steeling himself for his response, Jed exhaled. When he turned to the Roman, he was grinning.

“Sure am, Kemosabe!” he replied, as he put his hat on before bumping his shoulder against Octavius’ on his way past to take the lead.

  
  


Jed sat himself on a rock when he and Octavius reached the desert diorama. Octavius turned to check on him when he realised his friend wasn’t by his side. The cowboy had his head in his hands.

“Jed?” Octavius asked, concerned.

“I’m sorry.” Jed quietly told him.

“What for?”

“For pushin’ you away earlier. Shouldn'ta done it, din’t wanna do it. Ya prob’ly jus’ wanted one nice moment after everythin’ an’ I jus’ went and mucked it up.”

Octavius didn’t say anything for a moment, but Jed looked up when he heard the Roman’s armour against the rock.

“Then why did you do it?” Octavius gently asked once he was somewhat comfortably sat beside Jed.

Turning away, Jed closed his eyes and sighed.

“I’m scared,” he quietly admitted. “These feelings I have… for you, they’re… I dunno. Sometimes it’s so normal I don’ even think bout tryna hide it, but then… there’s the times I knew I’d hafta pretend like these strong-ass feelins din’t exist, like nuthing was wrong with bein’ best friends with you when I’ve wanted more than that fer years. An’ then there’s them. Y’know what they’d do to guys like me an’ you in my time?”

Octavius shook his head. “I don’t.”

“Most o’ the guys I’ve known of ‘ve been put behind bars most o’ their lifes,” Jed told him, trying to remain stoic. “But I’ve known… known of some who’ve been hanged.”

Sharply, Jed got to his feet.

“Oh, Jed…” Octavius breathed. “Jedediah.”

When he heard Octavius stand and approach him from behind, Jed tilted his hat over his face. He tensed at the touch of Octavius’ hand on his shoulder but didn’t pull away.

“ ‘m fine.” he unconvincingly insisted.

“Look at me, Jedediah.” Octavius softly instructed.

Hesitantly, Jed turned his head. Octavius used a finger to lightly brush the damp trail on the cowboy’s cheek.

“The exhibitions in this museum have seen and experienced many things that their historical personas could not even begin to imagine. Since the day we awoke, our people have been exposed to scenarios that have changed them as people. They have unlearned many things, prejudice and judgement being two of those things,” Octavius told Jed. “You should not be afraid of your own people. There is no need.”

Jed gazed into Octavius’ eyes, before smirking slightly.

“Look at me. Comfortin’ you to start the night, ‘n’ bein’ comforted by you to end it!” he good-naturedly scoffed. “What next?”

“Why not find out?” Octavius lightly suggested. 

As a blush creeped its way onto Jed’s face, he lowered his eyes, before lifting them to rest on Octavius’ pink lips. Before the thought even reached his mind, Octavius leaned forward to press his body and lips to Jed’s in a passionate first kiss conveying the caring, protective, jibing nature of their relationship.

Their connection, their story and their future were just as they should be.

**Author's Note:**

> Cinaedius - Cinaedus is a derogatory word denoting a male who was gender-deviant; his choice of sex acts, or preference in sexual partner, was secondary to his perceived deficiencies as a "man"


End file.
